Bumstead Homers Twice, Matadors Top Bakersfield 8-1

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.---Senior third baseman Nolan Bumstead pounded out three hits, belted two home runs and drove in five as CSUN Baseball cruised to an 8-1 victory over CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday evening at Hardt Field. Eight Matadors combined to post 11 hits while Brandon Bohning went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double. On the mound, eight Matadors saw action as the group limited the Roadrunners to six hits and collected 12 strikeouts.

Coming off a series where they scored 57 runs, the Matadors jumped on the Roadrunners in the early innings. In the second inning, after the first two batters were retired, the Matadors received back-to-back doubles from Kyle Barret and Bohning to get on the scoreboard. Alvaro Rubalcaba followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 2-0.

An inning later, the Matadors threatened after Kevin Riley and Justin Toerner worked one-out walks. Bumstead stepped to the plate next and smacked a three-run home run to left field, extending the lead to five runs.

CSUN held the Roadrunners at bay behind quality pitching throughout the evening. Matt Acosta earned his first career start with the Matadors and retired six of the seven batters he faced in the contest. Cassius Hamm came on in the third and picked up three consecutive groundouts while Jayson Newman, Cayce Rocco and Isaiah Nunez all worked scoreless frames in the middle innings. Nunez struck out two in the sixth as he stranded two runners in scoring position.

The combination of Toerner and Bumstead would give the Matadors an eight-run lead in the fifth inning. Riley began the inning by reaching safely on an error by shortstop Evan Berkey. Toerner followed with a triple to left center, plating Riley from first base. Bumstead again stepped to the plate and pulled a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run homer to push the lead to 8-0.

The Roadrunners broke up the Matadors' shutout bid in the seventh. Theron Kay struck out two of the first three batters before giving up a single to Daniel Carrizosa. Jake Ortega followed with an RBI single to give Bakersfield its first run. Kay would retire the next batter to get out of further trouble.

Hayden Shenefield entered out of the 'pen in the bottom of the eighth and retired the side in order on eight pitches. Blake Schriever shut the door in the ninth inning, fanning the final two batters of the game.

In addition to recording his first career multiple-home run game, Bumstead's five RBI tie his previous career high he recorded as a freshman against UC Riverside (4/25/16). Bumstead now has 10 home runs in his Matador career to go along with 80 RBI.

Toerner's triple on the night give him 10 for his career. He is currently sixth all time in CSUN history in triples, and needs three more to tie Jerry Libman (1962-64) for fifth place.

With his two hits, Bohning has five multiple-hit games already this season. The reigning Big West Field Player of the Week, Trevor Casanova went 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to eight consecutive games. Bumsted also pushed his hitting streak to eight-straight with his offensive display.

Hamm earned his first victory with the Matadors on the night. The junior right hander has allowed one run over 6.1 innings this season.

The Matadors head to Phoenix to compete in the GCU Classic this weekend. CSUN will take on Valparaiso on day one of the invite on Friday at 1 p.m. before taking on host Grand Canyon at 5 p.m. The Matadors will face GCU again on Saturday and Valparaiso once more on Sunday.

Bumstead Homers Twice, Matadors Top Bakersfield 8-1

Next Event

Team Stats

Nolan Bumstead

Brandon Bohning

Alvaro Rubalcaba

Riley Conlan

Players Mentioned

Matt Acosta

Kyle Barret

Brandon Bohning

Nolan Bumstead

Trevor Casanova

Cassius Hamm

Theron Kay

Jayson Newman

Isaiah Nunez

Kevin Riley

Cayce Rocco

Alvaro Rubalcaba

Blake Schriever

Hayden Shenefield

Justin Toerner